


New Heights

by sophh



Series: Love Fest 2021 [8]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Acrophobia, Date gone wrong, Drabble, F/M, Facebook: The Fairest of the Rare, Fear of Heights, Ferris Wheel, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:47:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29310564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophh/pseuds/sophh
Summary: Neville thought that going on the Ferris wheel would make for a romantic date. Problem is, he's afraid of heights.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Neville Longbottom
Series: Love Fest 2021 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2150826
Comments: 7
Kudos: 19
Collections: Hermione's Haven Bingo 2021, Love Fest 2021





	New Heights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FairestoftheRare](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=FairestoftheRare).



> Written for Fairest of the Rare's Love Fest 2021.   
> #TeamCass
> 
> Also written for HHBingo 2021, square B1: Neville Longbottom.

Neville gulped and tried not to look down at the ground. He was seated next to Hermione Granger—one of the smartest people he knew—in a slowly ascending Ferris wheel pod, and he was  _ terrified.  _

So much for the romantic date he had planned. 

It didn't help that he could hear Gran's voice in his head, telling him to be a man and push past his inadequacies. As usual, he was bringing dishonor to the family, even if he couldn't help it. 

He forced himself to look over at his date, to focus on her warm brown eyes instead of allowing his gaze to drift downwards and his thoughts to drift towards shame. 

"Neville, are you all right?" Hermione's voice was full of concern as she gently touched his arm. "You don't look well." 

Her concern overwhelmed Neville, and he buried his head in his hands. 

"I shouldn't have suggested the Ferris wheel," he mumbled. A moment later, he felt a light touch on his back, rubbing circles into the fabric of his shirt. 

"Are you afraid of heights?" Hermione asked. Neville squeezed his eyes shut and nodded, waiting for her to mock him. Being afraid of heights was  _ embarrassing _ —it was like being afraid of the monsters under his bed. "There's nothing wrong with that." 

Neville lifted his head to stare at her. She looked perfectly serious, but he couldn't help asking, "There isn't?" 

"Not at all. Acrophobia—an intense fear of heights, worse than what you're experiencing—is quite common, actually. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but it's one of the more notable phobias. It's also more common in women than in men. Did you know that?" 

Neville shook his head. Amazingly, Hermione's words were counteracting his anxiety—if she could just keep talking, providing him with more information about his condition, he might be sufficiently distracted from worrying. 

"No, I didn't know that," he said. His sweaty palms kept slipping off the edge of his seat, so he discretely wiped them on his trousers. "Is there anything else you can tell me about it?" 

Hermione gave him an eager nod and launched into the various explanations for acrophobia. This gave Neville time to take a few deep breaths and concentrate on something other than the fact that he was 80 metres above the ground. He was so busy listening to her, in fact, that he barely registered their pod's descent fifteen minutes later. 

"Oh, looks like we'll be next to get off!" Hermione said. She had just finished telling Neville about the history of the Ferris wheel, which had also thoroughly captivated his attention. "The cabin below ours just emptied." 

Neville risked a quick peek to verify that she was correct, then sat back in his seat. "Oh, thank God." He grimaced as he looked over at his date. "I'm sorry. I'd meant for this to be a memorable, romantic thing...I thought I could handle the height part, but it turns out I couldn't."

"You have nothing to apologise for," Hermione said graciously. She flashed him a small smile. "Besides, I enjoyed being able to talk so much about the psychological and behavioral explanations for acrophobia. I've done a lot of research into it because I used to be terrified of heights myself, and my brain needed a way to make sense of it—to rationalize it." 

Neville's eyes widened. "You were afraid of heights, too?"

"I was," Hermione confirmed, just as the Ferris wheel shuddered to a halt. She stood and extended a hand to Neville. "Looks like we made it back in one piece. And for what it's worth, that was a very memorable date." 

Neville took her hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. "Yeah, I guess it was."


End file.
